For quite a while I've wanted to try a couple of ideas out in a bridge hammock design. The first was to make it light by using everywhere lightweight materials---1.1 oz /yd^2 ripstop for the body, 2mm Dynema SK-75 cord on the suspension, dual-use carbon-fibe hiking poles as spreader bars. The other idea was to revisit pulling the spreader bars in closer to the head and feet, thereby getting more advantage of the spreader bars near the shoulders. WalkingBear first showed this years ago, and I tried it also back then, but in both contexts the suspension was webbing based.

The main design challenges for this were in

making the Gossamer Gear LT-4 hiking pole serve as a spreader bar,

making a side channel in 1.1 oz fabric that is strong enough for the thin 2mm suspension cord,

redo-ing the endcap to accomodate recessed spreader bars

losing most of an ounce from the weight of tree-huggers so that I could hit my total system weight goal.

The particular hammock shown will be used by someone considerably lighter than me. I've made one for myself out of 1.9 oz/yd^2 and 7/64" Amsteel, which adds 2-3 ounces to the system weight package.

For those DIY bridge makers out there, the dimensions of this rig are largely those of other GrizzBridges. The suspension curve is 7.0" deep, the finished fabric at the head (and foot) is 48", the mid-point is 34" wide.

Good stuff Professor ... impressive new take on your design. Question ... ever think of rounding the corners on your do-hickies? Might save some abrasion and a gram or so!

03-18-2012, 09:30

Old River Rat

another great grizzbridge . . .

though i am not so much into saving weight . . . i love the rhino . . . i do like the idea of spreader bar position for maximum shoulder room.

stuff like this is going to get me into DIY. :jj:

03-18-2012, 10:36

Theo

What?! No graphs!!:laugh:

Great video. One of these days I'm going to make a bridge hammock. Well, maybe not but I can always dream.

03-18-2012, 10:47

Cranky Bear

The weight savings that you got are truly awesome! Excellent production Grizz and thanks for posting!

03-18-2012, 11:36

Poppabear

I'm not a gram weenie by any stretch of the imagination but I must say this is really impressive. I really like the idea of repositioning the spreader bar for more shoulder room. I attempted making a double layer bridge hammock last year loosely based on your designs. It was a disaster partly due to the poor quality of the thread injector that I was using at the time. I was not satisfied at all with my work. After watching this video I am inspired to try my hand at making another one.

03-18-2012, 11:56

dant8ro

Grizz,

What do you imagine would be a reasonable weight range to trust those hiking poles with? I'm about 215 and was looking into going with Carbon Fiber, but what I was looking at was much beefier. I like the idea of being a multi-use item a lot.

Dan. :)

03-18-2012, 12:03

FireInMyBones

Very well done, sir. Hopefully one of these days I'll have an opportunity to try out a bridge hammock before I decide to buy one.

03-18-2012, 13:23

Otter1

Grizz,

What a great video! Thanks for taking the time to simplify things for a simpleton like me!!

Cool stuff.

03-18-2012, 14:48

GrizzlyAdams

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawk-eye

Good stuff Professor ... impressive new take on your design. Question ... ever think of rounding the corners on your do-hickies? Might save some abrasion and a gram or so!

Hiya Hawkeye! Glad you aren't presently behind the People's Great Firewall, seemingly, so you can see this right away. I read that they're on to your VPN-ing ways. On topic, the finished pieces that are on the hammock have had all corners and cut edges filed down, for the very reason you specified. I neglected to shot a closely of the piece before putting them on the hammock, so the close-up in the hand is of one I quickly made for the photo and wouldn't have shown that level of care.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old River Rat

another great grizzbridge . . .

though i am not so much into saving weight . . . i love the rhino . . . i do like the idea of spreader bar position for maximum shoulder room.

stuff like this is going to get me into DIY. :jj:

It is inevitable. Once you are really and truly retired you can devote yourself to developing some mad DIY skilz!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Theo

What?! No graphs!!:laugh:

Great video. One of these days I'm going to make a bridge hammock. Well, maybe not but I can always dream.

Have dole out the graphs sparingly, lest I frighten all viewers away! Every video has to offer the hope of no graphs, no equations, no bad jokes. Well, two out of three ain't so bad.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cranky Bear

The weight savings that you got are truly awesome! Excellent production Grizz and thanks for posting!

thank you sir. I know you like your bridge but not the weight of the spreader bars. Perhaps there is hope!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poppabear

I'm not a gram weenie by any stretch of the imagination but I must say this is really impressive. I really like the idea of repositioning the spreader bar for more shoulder room. I attempted making a double layer bridge hammock last year loosely based on your designs. It was a disaster partly due to the poor quality of the thread injector that I was using at the time. I was not satisfied at all with my work. After watching this video I am inspired to try my hand at making another one.

Practice, practice, practice. Almost all of the seams in a bridge are long straight ones, or finishing the edges of a cut with a roll. Devote some scrap material to just honing up on those skills and you're well on your way!

Quote:

Originally Posted by dant8ro

Grizz,

What do you imagine would be a reasonable weight range to trust those hiking poles with? I'm about 215 and was looking into going with Carbon Fiber, but what I was looking at was much beefier. I like the idea of being a multi-use item a lot.

Dan. :)

I'm closer to 200 than I want to be, and I've seen no evidence of bend in these poles and figure to be using them myself. There are two sections, with almost complete overlap when collapsed this way for use. My guess is that you'd be just fine (so long as the suspension triangle is big enough. The triangle sides on this one are 30 or 31 inches).

Quote:

Originally Posted by FireInMyBones

Very well done, sir. Hopefully one of these days I'll have an opportunity to try out a bridge hammock before I decide to buy one.

Hope so too. They do pop up at group hangs from time to time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funny Money

Grizz,

What a great video! Thanks for taking the time to simplify things for a simpleton like me!!

Cool stuff.

Glad you like it. You can think "this could be less than 10 ounces" whenever you pack up your bridge :cool: